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We have that in canada, and it really is confusing on what is taxable and what isnt.
"Basic" groceries are not taxable. But then there are some items that wouldn't be considered basic groceries that are exempt from tax (such as an unbaked pizza from the grocery store, but a frozen pizza is taxable).

https://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/...

Yes, in a perfect world only those who believe others should suffer as long as possible would be the ones who die slow painful deaths, but the world is not perfect, so it unfortunately happens to decent folks as well. We do treat animals better and that is a sad commentary on society.

Even more sad is the old laws forced some people to cut their lives short earlier - killing themselves when they are still physically able because they fear the day they won't be capable of doing it themselves.

Certainly tight controls need to be in place, but most important - and this was important even before this ruling - make sure your family and friends knows your wishes. Many people already have "living wills", I would suggest everyone should make sure their wishes are known before hand. It may not make for the happiest dinner conversation, but it is a conversation well worth having sooner rather than later.

Here is a template from our local health authority. You will find many others on the internet.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/li...

I'm pretty sure none of the US Constitution applies, given this situation is not on American soil.

True, but Canadian law includes similar verbiage. See Your Rights Under Expropriation.

meh. Pushed far enough, radios have been illegal in Manitoba for years....

...fears of television cameras to capture speeders is apparently the gateway to the downfall of western civilization and liberal/libertarian ideals. gee, maybe its just to catch speeders?

That's a laughably naive supposition. The first mistake you make is assuming the speed has been set for the sake of safety, and not to catch 'speeders' as a profit-generating exercise. There have been numerous stories about places where traffic lights are set up so more people will run the red and get ticketed. There's also this story. Note the 20-fold increase in tickets year-over-year. Living in the area, I can assure you it wasn't because everyone decided it was time to start speeding. As noted in the article, there were an obscene number handed out in off-hours construction zones where the speed was reduced at all times, rather than using the reduced speed while passing workers sign. Both signs can be found in this pdf link.

It did not say anything about having plenty extra to sell. It did not say anything about the ability to produce much more, and in fact, most good hydroelectric sites are already producing. There aren't any more.

It didn't say anything at all about solar and wind.

It would be icing on the cake for the Canadian railroads. Canadian National is truly a full transcontinental railroad, connecting Prince Rupert and Vancouver to the Atlantic (through the Great Lakes, Halifax and Montreal), plus New Orleans and Mobile, AL. Check their system map out.

So I'm much rather see such developments done in northern Quebec or Ontario.

Actually, I think you're pointing at the wrong Province here (though you have a good idea). What you actually want is Manitoba. Manitoba Hydro has tons of cheap electricity. They have oodles of hydro-electric dams across the province as the province is lined with lakes and rivers. They're even expanding into wind-power b/c (lo and behold) being on the cold windy plains is pretty conducive to giant windmills.

For anyone who's been to Manitoba, there is simply no lack of space and no lack of energy. It is centrally-located, so North American support is ideal. 8 am in the maritimes is 6 am local, 5 pm on the west coast in only 7 pm local, so the work day can easily be covered in overlapping shifts. And of course, the distance is equal to everyone in North America.

It's very cold in the winter, so cooling costs are not a concern for 4-6 months (if anything, the server rooms would need to be slightly heated :). Oh yeah, I should also mention that Manitoba labour costs lag well behind Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and BC. Winnipeg (the capital) is a big city (750,000) with all of the big city amenities, so setting up here (even exporting staff) will be pleasantly surprising.

Plus, Manitoba is pretty low on the natural disasters front. Saskatchewan gets regular twisters, but Manitoba has very few. There are no earthquakes, no hurricanes (obv), no tsunamis, none of the big stuff. Primary risks are snow-storms and floods, which are both easy to mitigate (redundancy, support network and "higher ground").

Fact is, I'm kind of surprised that big software companies haven't shipped operations to Manitoba. The Cost of Living is significantly lower (10-25% then the aforementioned provinces) and the location is conducive to working with companies on both coasts. With new technologies providing inexpensive communication costs, what does it matter that your programmers are 2 time zones away? It's nice to have bodies nearby, but you can just roll out the "vid-phones" (Skype, Messenger, whatever) and save big on the labour (and overhead, office space is also cheaper). All without the long list of "downsides" to off-shoring. You're not dealing with language issues or time zone issues or education issues.

Are you confusing "poor" and "poverty," or am I?

Good question: according to Answers poverty is: the state of being poor.

Thank you for your more static definition of poverty. You see, the level I was using was the concept of "living below the poverty line" where that line was 10k this year and 5k a decade ago. This concept of the poverty line is the one oft-quoted by news pundits or people pushing social security agendas.

Now point #2 is not perfectly static b/c housing requirements would vary dramatically between say Alaska and Miami, but the definition does include the concept of privacy. But hey, this stuff is good, this is stuff that can be measured. I really appreciate the reply, b/c most people don't care to even think about this stuff.

Now given that I live in balmy Winnipeg, I'll nitpick your list and add the requirement for adequate clothing (big deal out here, $100 winter jackets are not for show).

Given all of this info, I think that we'll actually reduce this conversation to something with a political bend (which makes this an opinion/ideological debate, rather than a debate about definitions). I'll warn you that I'm of the conservative bend.

The minimum wage in my region is $7.60 or about USD $6.61 (actually higher than the US minimum wage). At 40 hrs/week, that's just over about 15k, after standard income taxes that's about 12k/year or 1k/month. Now, in Winnipeg, a basic 2 bedroom apartment costs $700/month, and I'd like to assume that having a room-mate offers "the possibility for privacy", so all we'd really need to provide is schooling (free to 12th grade in Canada) and health care (free in Canada, drugs not included). So that leaves our minimum wage employee about $650/month (paying half the rent) to make food and clothes.

So clearly, with that money, this person is not poor by your definitions. Heck, with this money they could apply for a reduced-rate pass at the local Y, pay for a monthly bus pass (now tax-deductible) and even be well-entertained between the library and activities at the Y. In fact this minimum-wage employee, working full time, could ostensibly live a pretty healthy life. And let's not forget, that they won't stay at minimum forever, currently minimum wage (in Manitoba) is set to go up again in April (to $8/hour), but it's already irrelevant b/c we're at 3.5% unemployment, so nobody really makes minimum wage. All you really need to do is show up to work every day, do an adequate job and you'll get regular pay increases, so even minimum can be viewed as a short term issue.

Now, this issue changes a little when a kid arrives, but even a single parent is not without recourse in Canada. The government provides a Canada Child Tax Benefit (on a sliding scale) and Manitoba has the Manitoba Shelter Benefit for families, there is a GST Tax Credit, there are CRISP benefits and even childcare (daycare) subsidies. Of course, in single parent situations, the "missing" parent is expected to pay child support. If that "missing" parent has died, the government will help replace that income using Canada pension plan benefits, to the tune of about $200/month. As a bonus, if you need childcare to be able to work, those childcare costs are tax-deductible (whatever parts are not already subsidized). The system only scales out to a few of children, but if you have 4 kids, no partner and a

Are you confusing "poor" and "poverty," or am I?

Good question: according to Answers poverty is: the state of being poor.

Thank you for your more static definition of poverty. You see, the level I was using was the concept of "living below the poverty line" where that line was 10k this year and 5k a decade ago. This concept of the poverty line is the one oft-quoted by news pundits or people pushing social security agendas.

Now point #2 is not perfectly static b/c housing requirements would vary dramatically between say Alaska and Miami, but the definition does include the concept of privacy. But hey, this stuff is good, this is stuff that can be measured. I really appreciate the reply, b/c most people don't care to even think about this stuff.

Now given that I live in balmy Winnipeg, I'll nitpick your list and add the requirement for adequate clothing (big deal out here, $100 winter jackets are not for show).

Given all of this info, I think that we'll actually reduce this conversation to something with a political bend (which makes this an opinion/ideological debate, rather than a debate about definitions). I'll warn you that I'm of the conservative bend.

The minimum wage in my region is $7.60 or about USD $6.61 (actually higher than the US minimum wage). At 40 hrs/week, that's just over about 15k, after standard income taxes that's about 12k/year or 1k/month. Now, in Winnipeg, a basic 2 bedroom apartment costs $700/month, and I'd like to assume that having a room-mate offers "the possibility for privacy", so all we'd really need to provide is schooling (free to 12th grade in Canada) and health care (free in Canada, drugs not included). So that leaves our minimum wage employee about $650/month (paying half the rent) to make food and clothes.

So clearly, with that money, this person is not poor by your definitions. Heck, with this money they could apply for a reduced-rate pass at the local Y, pay for a monthly bus pass (now tax-deductible) and even be well-entertained between the library and activities at the Y. In fact this minimum-wage employee, working full time, could ostensibly live a pretty healthy life. And let's not forget, that they won't stay at minimum forever, currently minimum wage (in Manitoba) is set to go up again in April (to $8/hour), but it's already irrelevant b/c we're at 3.5% unemployment, so nobody really makes minimum wage. All you really need to do is show up to work every day, do an adequate job and you'll get regular pay increases, so even minimum can be viewed as a short term issue.

Now, this issue changes a little when a kid arrives, but even a single parent is not without recourse in Canada. The government provides a Canada Child Tax Benefit (on a sliding scale) and Manitoba has the Manitoba Shelter Benefit for families, there is a GST Tax Credit, there are CRISP benefits and even childcare (daycare) subsidies. Of course, in single parent situations, the "missing" parent is expected to pay child support. If that "missing" parent has died, the government will help replace that income using Canada pension plan benefits, to the tune of about $200/month. As a bonus, if you need childcare to be able to work, those childcare costs are tax-deductible (whatever parts are not already subsidized). The system only scales out to a few of children, but if you have 4 kids, no partner and a

Are you confusing "poor" and "poverty," or am I?

Good question: according to Answers poverty is: the state of being poor.

Thank you for your more static definition of poverty. You see, the level I was using was the concept of "living below the poverty line" where that line was 10k this year and 5k a decade ago. This concept of the poverty line is the one oft-quoted by news pundits or people pushing social security agendas.

Now point #2 is not perfectly static b/c housing requirements would vary dramatically between say Alaska and Miami, but the definition does include the concept of privacy. But hey, this stuff is good, this is stuff that can be measured. I really appreciate the reply, b/c most people don't care to even think about this stuff.

Now given that I live in balmy Winnipeg, I'll nitpick your list and add the requirement for adequate clothing (big deal out here, $100 winter jackets are not for show).

Given all of this info, I think that we'll actually reduce this conversation to something with a political bend (which makes this an opinion/ideological debate, rather than a debate about definitions). I'll warn you that I'm of the conservative bend.

The minimum wage in my region is $7.60 or about USD $6.61 (actually higher than the US minimum wage). At 40 hrs/week, that's just over about 15k, after standard income taxes that's about 12k/year or 1k/month. Now, in Winnipeg, a basic 2 bedroom apartment costs $700/month, and I'd like to assume that having a room-mate offers "the possibility for privacy", so all we'd really need to provide is schooling (free to 12th grade in Canada) and health care (free in Canada, drugs not included). So that leaves our minimum wage employee about $650/month (paying half the rent) to make food and clothes.

So clearly, with that money, this person is not poor by your definitions. Heck, with this money they could apply for a reduced-rate pass at the local Y, pay for a monthly bus pass (now tax-deductible) and even be well-entertained between the library and activities at the Y. In fact this minimum-wage employee, working full time, could ostensibly live a pretty healthy life. And let's not forget, that they won't stay at minimum forever, currently minimum wage (in Manitoba) is set to go up again in April (to $8/hour), but it's already irrelevant b/c we're at 3.5% unemployment, so nobody really makes minimum wage. All you really need to do is show up to work every day, do an adequate job and you'll get regular pay increases, so even minimum can be viewed as a short term issue.

Now, this issue changes a little when a kid arrives, but even a single parent is not without recourse in Canada. The government provides a Canada Child Tax Benefit (on a sliding scale) and Manitoba has the Manitoba Shelter Benefit for families, there is a GST Tax Credit, there are CRISP benefits and even childcare (daycare) subsidies. Of course, in single parent situations, the "missing" parent is expected to pay child support. If that "missing" parent has died, the government will help replace that income using Canada pension plan benefits, to the tune of about $200/month. As a bonus, if you need childcare to be able to work, those childcare costs are tax-deductible (whatever parts are not already subsidized). The system only scales out to a few of children, but if you have 4 kids, no partner and a

The city of Winnipeg, Manitoba goes to great lengths to kill mosquitoes. They employ insecticide foggers that are quite controversial. Why do they do all this? The consequences of the poisons are seen as less of a risk than the consequences of West Nile virus.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/wnv/

I'm playing catch-up here. My response to your comment about the surreality of this thread I hope brings us into general agreement.

I wasn't going to ask specifically about New York's procedures, but now you do have me curious. Your summary doesn't seem to require anything more than what happened in Manitoba: someone who works with old people noticed a problem with the man, he then had a psychiatric assessment. According to my reading of the Manitoba Mental Health Act required examination by a doctor, then specifically a psychiatrist then approval of the medical director of the facility. Appointment of a public trustee to manage the man's affairs then requires the attending physician, the medical director and a public trustee. The patient and nearest relative must be informed that they may apply to a review board.

The original article seems to be a simplified and sensationalized account of the above. So, with the amount of information we've exchanged so far about New York and Manitoba procedures, I don't see much difference. I actually expected that New York (and most states) would require some judicial involvement (perhaps you just left it out of the summary?).

No. Manitoba is in Canada.

Manitoba does. Reasoning behind this is that it was paid for by taxpayers, and there's not reason why we shouldn't have access to it.
Ontario began something called GeoSmart, but it has apparently been cancelled. Municipal projects would receive funding for 50% of a GIS project, and would in turn share their data with other GeoSmart members.
The GeoGratis site has quite a bit of free GIS data.. Especially LandSat imagery. They also have landcover data for all of Ontario... and small scale base data for all of Canada.
I'd like to see more provinces follow MB's lead.

In Canada, there's a move towards making data, whose gathering was paid for by taxpayers, available for free. Manitoba has this set up, and other provinces will in the future. There is a sick amount of data on there. -RJack-45

After what was once a reprehensible double-taxation scheme (paying taxes to collect data, paying taxes to receive data), the Manitoba Land Initiative (that's Manitoba, Canada) now offers almost all publically available data sets free and online. MLI + GRASS = free GIS base

....and, correct me if I am wrong, but aren't there already reports of Vancomicyn resistant strains of MRSA? There are a variety of other reports besides that one.

Diversity=pain. If you have a 'huge number of diverse applications', it sounds like your organisation's IT policy is out of control. The vast majority of corporate users use very little beyond the core of OS, browser, mail, office and their groupware/CRM app.

I concur with Crisco. For a typical example, see the Government of Manitoba Department directory. Tell me again it's "out of control", and all they need is OS/browser/mail/office/groupware!

Anyway, the point is if he has Windows NT/2K/XP users and they aren't Administrators, software distribution is going to require a local software installation Windows service running, most likely. I'm interested, too, since where I work now will be migrating from Netware to Windows 2000, and we can't afford MS SMS. Sigh.

And one more thing: as requested, a non-big-business link describing the Canadian health care issue. Comes right from the transcript of a House session: link. Search for the word "doctor."